A controversial abortion doctor is moving to Maryland, and anti-abortion rights groups are ready to protest his arrival.
Dr. LeRoy Carhart performs late-term abortions, which could focus national attention on the clinic he is joining in Germantown.
Beginning the second week of December, Carhart will join Germantown Reproductive Health Services. He's moving there after working with George Tiller, a doctor in Kansas who was fatally shot by an anti-abortion protester.
"Dr. Carhart is still committed to helping women get the medical care they need," said NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland Executive Director Jennifer Blasdell.
The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action, a Christian outreach to elected and appointed officials, said he's received e-mails from national groups that want to participate in a continuous, peaceful presence at the clinic.
"It could be a day, a week, a year," he said.
"As long as the protest is civil, I don't see any problem," said David Roper, a CPA who owns Roper Financial near the clinic.
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Carhart is leaving Nebraska after lawmakers there placed restrictions on providing late-term abortions. They are legal in Maryland.
"The voters in 1992 spoke loud and clear making abortion legal," Blasdell said.
A coalition of anti-abortion rights groups will propose legislation in Maryland to tighten its abortion laws.
"When it comes to late-term abortion, even people who are in favor of abortion may have difficulty accepting it," Schenck said.
Montgomery County police said they are aware of the anti-abortion protests planned at the clinic in Germantown. Officers will respect the rights of the demonstrators, and they will protect protesters, clinic personnel and the public.
Germantown Reproductive Health Services had no comment for NBC Washington Wednesday.
